Conversations
by nyakattia
Summary: When Flack is sent out of town on a case, he and Stella talk. Established Fiesta.
1. Chapter 1

_it's sitting by the overcoat/ the second shelf, the note she wrote/ that i can't bring myself to throw away..._  
Matchbox 20, _Long Day_

She glanced at the display on her phone before answering it, a smile tugging at her lips as she recognized the number. "Hey," she said, turning away from the microscope.

"Hey, babe," he replied, and she heard the caution in his tone, in the deep timber of his voice.

Her smile faded. "What is it?" She was suddenly glad that, for the moment at least, she was alone in this corner of the lab.

"We got a tip that Kerrington got on a bus to LA two days ago. We gotta get out there, check it out."

That was the problem with cases, sometimes they took an unexpected turn and you had to follow it wherever it went. "When are you leaving?" There was another pause and she heard the sound of a locker slamming shut. "Don, don't tell me-"

"Me and Philips are getting on a plane in a coupla hours," he said. "We're just about to leave for La Guardia."

There was silence on the line for a moment, and she knew he was waiting for her reaction. "Stell-"

"Okay," she said running a hand through her hair, her jaw clenched. "It's fine. I understand."

"I know we had that thing tonight-"

"It's fine," she repeated, hearing the snap in her voice and knowing he would hear it too. She sighed. "Really, it's fine, we'll do it some other time."

"I'll be home as soon as I can."

It wasn't like they had never spent any time apart. Cases ran long. Sometimes they were on conflicting shifts, spent all their time together sleeping and communicated through post it notes on the fridge. She forced a smile. "Just catch him."

"I will." There was a pause and she heard someone talking in the background. "I gotta go, babe. Love ya."

"You too." And, foolishly, she waited until she heard the click of disconnection and the start of the dial tone before she snapped her own phone shut.

--

Interested yet? More to come soon.


	2. Chapter 2

_...and also/ reach she said, for no one else but you/ 'cause you won't turn away/ when someone else is gone..._  
Matchbox 20, _Long Day_

When the phone rang on her bedside table late that night, she picked it up quickly, almost hoping there was a case that needed her attention. "Bonasera."

"Hey, it's me."

And if she was ridiculously glad that he had called, she decided to keep that information to herself. "Hey, how's it going out there?" She settled back into bed and contemplated the forensic journal she had previously been reading.

"We're checking things out with LAPD. Looks like our guy has form out here too so we're looking into his connections." He ended on a sigh.

"Hmm," she murmured. "Get any sleep?"

"A little on the plane. Philips is a snorer."

That, at least, made her smile. "What are you doing tonight?"

"Not much. Going over the case with the guys, seeing what we can figure out. They're talking about calling in the feds."

"Get some sleep, hon. You sound tired."

He chuckled, the sound transmitting over the wires all the way across the country so that she could hear it. "Yes ma'am... I'm sorry I'm not there with you tonight."

She had missed him. Missed just seeing him there, sitting across the table, lounging on the sofa, frying up something in the kitchen. But... "It's the job."

"Yeah." He paused for a moment. "I had it all planned out you know. I was gonna cook you dinner, put a little music on, ask you to dance..."

She had known his earlier nonchalance about their date tonight was a front. Had known he had something planned for weeks. Still, she couldn't help but to snort at his last comment. "You may be many things, Donald Flack, but a dancer you are not."

He laughed along with her. "Shows what you know Ms Bonasera. I've been practicin'."

Just the thought that he would do that for her, to impress her, made her grin with pleasure. "Oh really?" Then a thought struck. "Is that what Lindsay was doing at your place last week?"

"She been helping me a little. But you'll just have to wait til I get home."

"I'll look forward to it," she said, and meant it.

"So what are you up to tonight? Apart from missin' me, I mean."

She rolled her eyes and glanced over at the bedside table where she had placed a pile of journals she had somehow never gotten around to reading. "Catching up on some forensics journals."

"In bed?" She recognized his tone and just knew he was grinning in a way that never failed to do things to her.

"So help me, Donald Flack, if you ask what I'm wearing-"

"Something short and sexy, I'm hoping."

She rolled her eyes, but giggled just a little. "Well you may be right about that Detective. Unfortunately, you can't be here to see it."

He whistled his disappointment through his teeth. "Damn." There was a slight pause and she grinned at what she knew his next question was gonna be. "So, seeing as it is our anniversary... you wanna try phone sex?"

She waited a moment to control her smile before she replied. "I've always found that it pales in comparison to the real thing."

"Aww come on babe. I thought you needed to do some experimentin' before you made claims like that. You haven't exactly proved it yet, have you?"

She needed to distract him before he managed to talk her into it. But before she could think of anything to say, she heard a noise in the background. "Where are you, exactly?"

"They gave me and Philips a conference room, to work in."

She gaped at him, knowing even as she did it that he couldn't see her. "Are you telling me there are other people there, listening to you talk to me?"

He waited a long moment before he chuckled. "Nah, Philips is out getting some food. Actually he's just come back in. There goes my plans for this little conversation."

"Do you want me to hang up on you?" she asked, knowing he wouldn't believe the threat.

"Come on, babe, what if I call when I'm back at the hotel they put us up in?"

While it might be interesting to try out- he was actually right about testing theories- she knew he wouldn't be up to much while the knowledge a child killer was still at large haunted him. "Wait a few days and you can have the real thing, _babe_." She put a sarcastic emphasis on the last word.

"I'll be home soon. Thursday maybe."

Well damn him and his ability to see right through her. And herself for missing him more than she should. Before she could respond, he spoke again.

"You know, I've been thinking..."

"Mmm..." she encouraged him, turning a page of the journal in the hopes there would be something interesting written there.

"A year ago... I was a lowly third grade detective, you were this amazing, beautiful, intimidating woman... not that you aren't now of course."

She smiled again, knowing where this was going. "Yes...?"

"Aren't you glad I asked you out?"

"Well seeing as I had been dropping hints for a month it was about damn time," she retorted. Ignoring his snort of derision, she spoke again. "You better get back to work. Sounds like you're in for a long night."

He waited a beat before replying. "Yeah, something like that. I guess I'll call you tomorrow, babe. Sleep well."

"You too," she said, and then made sure she was the one to hang up first.

--

I forgot to mention, this story was in part inspired by actual events. More conversations to come.


	3. Chapter 3

_...i'm sorry 'bout the attitude/ I need to give when i'm with you/ but no one else would take this shit from me..._

Matchbox 20, _Long Day_

By the time her cell started vibrating at her hip it was mid afternoon, and she answered it curtly.

"Bonasera."

"Hey babe," he said, and she could hear the grin in his voice. "It's me."

She sighed inwardly. He sounded like he was in a good mood. A break in the case maybe. "Hey, you catch the guy?"

"Nah. We hauled his brother in for questioning though- turns out he was the one who came out here, not Kerrington. Took us all damn night to crack him. But he had a few ideas where his little brother might be holed up."

"So you're headed home now?" She closed her eyes, placing a hand on her forehead as she lent against the table.

"Just gotta finish up the paperwork, but yeah. I'll be on a plane in a few hours."

She smiled weakly, injected just a little more cheer into her voice. "Great."

"Hey," he said, his voice getting serious. "You okay, Stell?"

"I'm fine," she told him, but knew he wouldn't believe her.

"Really? Cause I gotta tell you it doesn't sound like it."

She sighed, warping her arm across her chest. "We got a multiple. Bad. Three kids and dad." She could still see the scene behind her eyelids. Blood splattering the walls, coating the tiles in the kitchen, congealing in pools on the living room floor.

There was silence for a moment on the line. She pressed her phone up against the ear, somehow strangely reassured just by the sound of his breathing, and faintly in the background the noise of the LAPD station house.

Finally he spoke. "Damn. I'm sorry babe, I wish I could've been there."

She had seen Danny reach out to hold his wife's hand at the crime scene. At that moment she had wanted him there with all of her will. And hated herself, just a little, for it. "You can't help it," she told him.

He sighed. "I know. Listen, when I get home, we should try to do this whole anniversary thing again, okay? We'll stay in, turn off the phone, I'll cook you dinner..."

She was irritated that she sniffled at that, but a smile tugged at her lips anyway. "Yeah, that sounds good."

"Hey, I-" There was an interruption on the other end of the line, and he stopped speaking. It was only because he did that she heard the other voice clearly. Female. Asking a question that had nothing to do with the case.

"Maybe you should go," she told him before he could speak again. "You sound busy." She hadn't meant to put so much spite in her tone but couldn't help it. Damn him. Damn him for being across the other side of the country, talking to other women.

"Stell," he said, and she heard that caution in his tone again. But now there was something dangerous about it. "Nothing is going on. Me and Philips are just going out for a drink with the guys before we leave, okay?"

She gritted her teeth. "Fine, whatever. I couldn't care less." The fact that she knew he would never even think about cheating on her just made her feel worse.

"Really? You couldn't care less." He repeated, and she heard the sarcasm in his tone.

"Damn you Don." It was easier, wasn't it? To blame him for this.

"Love you too, sweetheart." He told her. "I'll see you tonight."

And then he hung up on her.

--

A big thank you to all of my reviewers! More soon.


	4. Chapter 4

_...and i'm so/ terrified of no one else but me/ i'm here all the time/ i won't go away..._  
Matchbox 20, _Long Day_

He called just as she was leaving work, carrying the folder full of photographs of broken bodies and far more blood than should ever spill from four people. She looked down at her cell, at the number on the display.

And disconnected the call.

--

He called again when she was home, her cell vibrating on the kitchen table where the file was laid out while she ate takeaway straight out of the cartons. She had taken a vindictive pleasure in draining the last drop of the bottle of red he had stashed in her fridge before he left .

She listened to the ring tone sound, over, and over. Until finally it cut out and there was nothing but silence.

--

Half an hour later he rang the phone in her bedroom. When the answering machine kicked in she could hear every word he said from the kitchen.

"Stella."

Then a sigh. "Come on Stell, I know you're there. I called Mac to check."

She gritted her teeth. Mac may be her closest friend, but she still hated him knowing the intimate details of her relationships.

"Fine. We got delayed in Dallas and missed the connecting flight. They can't get us on another plane till tomorrow morning. I guess I'll see you then."

There was another pause, then- "I love you, babe, but we need to talk."

She stared blankly at the papers in front of her. There was something she was missing, she just knew it. Something that would prove their suspect did it. She just couldn't think.

There was a burning against the back of her eyes. With an irritated sigh she dropped her pen on the table and pressed the heals of her palms to her closed eyes. There was a catch in her breath. And, dammit, the tears slid out anyway.

--

Short, I know. More soon.


	5. Chapter 5

_...reach down your hand in your pocket/ pull out your hope for me/ it's been a long day, always ain't that right..._  
Matchbox 20, _Long Day_

Early the next morning, with the soft dawn light drifting into her office, her phone rang. She took it off her belt and looked at the the caller ID for a long moment before she answered.

"Hi."

There was a pause on the other end of the line. "Hey. I wasn't expecting you to pick up."

She leaned forward, placing her elbows on her desk and letting her loose hair fall around her face. "Then why did you call?"

"Maybe I just missed the sound of your voice."

She almost wanted to smile at that. He was very good at making her smile. "Are you trying to charm me Detective?"

"Maybe. Will it get you to talk to me?"

She bit down on her bottom lip. "So you're at the airport?"

"We just got in." He sounded resigned. "Stella, when I-"

"I'm sorry," she said, interrupting him. She sighed, feeling the now familiar burning against the back of her eyes. "I... overreacted."

She had to wait a few moments for his response. "It's okay, babe. I know you're having some trouble with that case-"

"It's not that," she interrupted him. "Dammit, Don. I miss you."

He stayed silent so she said the rest. "I need you... here."

"And that pisses you off, babe, I know." There was another pause before he spoke again. "Where are you?"

She leaned back into her chair, relaxing just a little. "My office."

"Okay," he said. "I'll be there in an hour or so. I just have to get my bag and find a taxi."

Damn him. She couldn't wait to see him. "I don't need you to treat me like a child, Don. I'm fine."

He laughed a little at that. "I know you are. But maybe I need to see you too, you know? None of the CSI's in LA were nearly as good looking as you, babe."

This time she did smile. "Oh really?"

"Yeah," he said, and she believed him. "I gotta go babe. I'll see you soon."

"Okay." Then, before he could hang up, she spoke. "Don?"

There was a pause. "Yeah?"

"I love you." And she didn't say it enough.

When he spoke again, she could hear the smile in his voice. "I love you too, Stell."

They hung up at exactly the same time.

--

I hope you all like this ending. Let me know!


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